Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Toyota Prius headlamp troubles could dim brand's reputation

Amid the launch of the third-generation Prius hybrid, Toyota Motor Corp. is taking a beating online and in court by owners who charge that some older models of the popular car have faulty headlights that can cost more than $1,000 to replace. Owners have complained to federal safety officials and in online chats that Prius' upgraded optional lights, known as high-intensity discharge headlamps, have a tendency to fail.

MINI Countryman Cooper & Paceman Cooper get ALL4 4WD

The MINI Countryman Cooper (pictured) & Paceman Cooper get ALL4 4WD We always find it astonishing that car makers ‘ration’ the availability of four wheel drive platforms in their cars, usually citing a ‘lack of demand’. But that lack of demand is usually predicated on the lack of supply, and increasing the supply of 4WD cars would see more sold, especially after a series of harsh winters where many motorists struggled to keep their cars in a straight line. So the decision by BMW to extend the availability of their ALL4 4WD setup to a wider range of MINIs is welcome, with the petrol Countryman Cooper and Paceman Cooper now getting the ALL4 option too.

One Lap of the Web: New Transformers, home-built cars and two Mercury Marauders

We spend a lot of time on the Internet -- pretty much whenever we're not driving, writing about or working on cars. Since there's more out there than we'd ever be able to cover, here's our daily digest of car stuff on the Web you may not otherwise have heard about. -- Michael Bay has been releasing the cars of “Transformers 4” for the past couple of months, and the latest one to be revealed is the Pagani Huayra (“why-ra”).